"What... the hell is that?" Viola whispered, her voice barely above a breath.
"Oh no, no, no! Not now!" Adlet screamed.
He clearly knew something, but this wasn't the time to ask. The creature growled, its massive form shifting as it moved toward us. A cold shiver ran down my spine.
"Run! We can't fight this thing! It's way too strong!"
We all silently agreed and started moving to the side, hoping to escape unnoticed. But the creature wasn't that foolish—it lashed its tail toward us in a sudden attack.
We barely managed to dodge.
"Guys, this is bad! Look behind us—we're at the edge of a cliff! If we fall, it's certain death!"
Panic gripped us, and in that moment, Adlet, clearly scared out of his mind, turned to run.
"Adlet, wait—!"
But before anyone could stop him, the giant beast swung its massive paw at him. He tried to dodge, but the sheer force of the attack sent him flying—right toward the cliffside.
And then... he was gone.
We stood frozen in shock, unable to move a single muscle.
"How... how can something that big move so fast?"
"Standing here won't do us any good!" Eddy snapped. "Try to distract it! Barren, go check on Adlet—see if he's okay!"
Eddy began chanting a spell while I sprinted toward the cliffside where Adlet had fallen.
When I reached the edge, I saw him dangling, gripping onto the rocky surface for dear life.
"Hold on!" I reached my hand toward him. "I'll pull you up!"
With some effort, I managed to haul him back onto solid ground. Gasping for breath, I looked back toward the others—they were still struggling to keep the beast's attention away from us.
"Okay! We're done!" I shouted.
"Good! Now, Barren—get that thing's attention on you so we can escape. Once we're safe, we'll help you again!"
"Got it!" I nodded and started chanting.
"Wait—what are you doing?! Don't do that!" Adlet suddenly grabbed my arm, stopping my spell.
"What are you talking about?!" I snapped.
"If you do this, I'll die!"
What is his problem?! They're my friends—of course I'm going to help them!
"Barren, we're waiting!" Simon called out.
I glared at Adlet. "If you want to run, then scram!"
Without waiting for his response, I cast my spell, sending an attack at the beast. It barely did anything—but it did succeed in drawing its attention to me.
"Now! Run!"
"We're on it!" they replied.
I glanced behind me—Adlet was gone. He had run for his life. I couldn't blame him, but still…
"Guys! A little help here?!"
The beast swung its massive paw at me again. I barely dodged.
"We're at the entrance! Barren, run for it! We'll distract it!"
"Got it!"
A blast of water magic struck the creature, drawing its gaze away for just a second—just enough time for me to sprint toward the entrance.
"Where's Adlet?" Eddy asked, still casting his spell.
"He ran away."
"Figures. Alright, let's get out of here. Slowly back away—"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the ruins.
"What was that?!"
"Adlet!" Viola gasped. "Where is he?!"
We frantically searched around until she pointed a shaking finger forward.
"There! Behind the creature!"
I felt my stomach drop. "What the hell is he doing there?!"
"HELP ME!" Adlet screamed.
But it was too late.
The creature's tail swung at him with crushing force—
And he was gone.
"Did he… did he just die?" Viola asked, her voice trembling.
I swallowed hard. "I don't know… I can't see from here."
"We need to run," Eddy said firmly. "Now. Or we'll die too."
And with that, we turned and ran.
"Don't look back, run!" Simon said.
"Yeah!"
The creature growled and started to chase us through the thick forest, destroying the forest around where he went.
BAM!
He attacked toward me with his paw, which I barely managed to dodge, but that made me fall down.
"Barren!" Eddy stopped running.
"No, you run!" I screamed, trying to get up.
"Hey, ugly, look here!" Viola said as she attacked it with a spell, which took its attention from me to her. I got up and was about to run, but then it happened—the beast swung his tail toward us, which directly hit Viola first, then Simon.
From that hit, Viola coughed blood out of her mouth.
"Viola!" Simon screamed.
As for Simon, he didn't get hit directly, so he was fine.
Eddy ran toward her without caring for his own life.
The creature attacked him, but he didn't care at all.
"Viola!" Eddy screamed, tears in his eyes. I have never seen Eddy this serious.
We also went toward her to help.
Viola… Eddy tried to wake her up, but she didn't even react.
Eddy just sat there with Viola in his arms, not moving.
"Eddy, we have to run now! Let's carry her!" Simon said, getting up. "The creature is about to attack again!"
"By the grace of the sacred star, let wounds be closed, and life restored. Heal."
I cast my healing spell on Viola, then Simon. But wait—Viola didn't respond to the spell at all.
"Eddy, we have to go."
But Eddy didn't even move.
"She... she is gone."
"She is..."
"She is gone!" He screamed, tears in his eyes.
We lost her.
"Eddy, we have to run, or we will die too!" Simon said desperately.
BAM!
The beast attacked once again toward me, and this time, I didn't manage to dodge.
"AAAAAAA!"
I flew quite a distance from that attack.
Oh no, I'm about to lose my consciousness... Blood came out from my mouth too.
"Eddy! Simon Screaming—that's the last thing I remembered before I lost consciousness.
"...."
"Then what?" I asked impatiently to Barren.
"Theo, don't be impatient. He lost consciousness, so he doesn't know what happened next," Eddy said, clearly saddened to the extreme.
That was rude of me—I looked apologetically toward Eddy.
I was lost. I didn't know what to do next. My friends were dying in front of me. I was starting to get consumed with grief and saw the beast preparing to attack once again.
"..."
BAM!
Simon got hit once again. Then something snapped inside me—a voice inside me rang out.
I don't know how, but I stood up with Viola, then said "Gate," which made me and Viola teleport to where Simon was. Then, once again, I said "Gate," and I was where Barren was. Then, once again, I said "Gate," and suddenly, I was at the guild hall.
The magic took a toll on my body, and I lost consciousness too.
"....."
When I came back, I saw Barren still unconscious and Simon sitting on his bed. As for Viola, I searched everywhere with my eyes, but no—she wasn't here.
"Sir, you need rest. Don't move," the guild receptionist said.
"Where is she?"
I lashed out at her.
"She is no more, sir. When you came here, we managed to save you three, but for her... she was long gone."
I sat there, frozen, not saying anything.
"....."
"After that, we did the ritual for her because no one knew her family," Eddy said, tears in his eyes.
I looked toward the others. It was the same for them—both Simon and Barren were crying too.
Rubbing his eyes, Barren said, "It's getting too late. Let's take some rest for today. Tomorrow is a big day for us. Let's rest."
We all agreed to that, but hearing that... I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight.
"....."
"Eat."
"It's not drugged," a hoarse voice came from the darkness, and then the figure came closer to her.
It was a young guy with long violet hair—that was the only thing Kathleen managed to notice from the faint light.
"Who are you?"
"That's not important."
"You will understand soon enough. It's time to begin the last phase of our plan."
The guy smiled out loud.
The End of Volume 1.